By Doug Schneider

Scott and I both have a passion for weather and motorsports that began in childhood. We started forecasting weather for open wheel and sports car races a year ago as a means of combining two of our favorite things. We're excited that we can be a help to fans, teams, and race officials by doing what we love through Racecast Weather. I also love weather photography and racing photography, so here's a collection of some of my favorite photos that combine the two.

Credit for these photos goes to David Yowe (dlymotorsportimages.com), John Dagys and the photographers at Sportscar365, John Thawley (johnthawley.com), and the F1 Fanatic photo collection (f1fanatic.co.uk)

By Scott Martin

Well I hope you enjoyed this year's edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Now it is time to check and see how well my forecasts held up to what actually happened at the track. The official readings came from the Daytona Beach International Airport.

Fortunately, most of the forecast wen as expected. There were a lot of misses for Thursday night considering that the time of arrival of the low pressure system came later than expected. With that said, it was good news for the spectators and participants in the CTSC race. The rain held of until the very end when sprinkles started to fall on the backstretch during the last few laps.

This chart will also show that the accuracy of the forecast is usually better as you get closer to the actual day. A seven day forecast will not be as accurate as a 3 day forecast, most of the time. You can still blow it like I did for the low temperature for Thursday night. I said it would be 62, when it actually dropped to 51.

What I am happy about is the forecast for Friday and Saturday that was made on Friday turned out really well. That gave not only the competitiors an accurate forecast, but the fans as well.

By Scott Martin

Good Friday morning race fans. The first race of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge season is today, and it looks like rain tires may be needed at some point of the race today.

I have been going over the latest model runs, and main shield of rain appears to stay north of the speedway for most of the morning and the early part of the afternoon hours. Around 4PM today is when it looks like scattered showers and thunderstorms start to arrive at the speedway. Now I can't rule out that there may be a few passing showers before hand, but it looks like the bulk of the rain doesn't move in until approximately 4PM. Winds will by gusty at times, up to 20 MPH. Tonight will feature much of the same. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, with winds gusting up to 25 MPH at times.

I'm going to be optimistic for the start of the Rolex 24 tomorrow. I know I put a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4PM in the forecast graphic, but I do believe that all the action will have passed through by 2PM and will only have to use rain tires for the first stint. But that is being optimistic. The high temperature will be reached at midnight, and will steadily fall throughout the day. Winds are still expected to be gusty, up to 30 MPH at times. Skies will start to clear after 5PM. Saturday night through the early morning hours of Sunday will be mostly clear skies and cold, reaching a low of near 40. Be sure to bundle up.

Sunday looks like a great day for the finish of the Rolex 24. Skies will be mostly clear, with only a few passing clouds. Highs will struggle to reach the mid 60s. No chance of rain.

Be sure to stay weather aware today while at the track, especially if you hear thunder in the area. I will be doing some maintenance work on the radar page today, so I'll have another radar page up in its place until the maintenance is finished. That should be done by 1pm. I'll tweet weather updates during the race today, so keep the smart phone handy. Have a great day.

By Scott Martin

Good Thursday Morning to all of you. I hope you are ready to enjoy the day today at Daytona International Speedway. As the races are getting closer, the forecast is getting more clear for the weekend. Lets dive into it, shall we.

Today you can expect mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies thought the day today with warm temperatures. Highs should reach the mid 70s. As the late afternoon and evening hours are approaching, expect the clouds to start building. Tonight through the overnight hours there is a slight chance of rain, mainly after midnight. Lows tonight should bottom out in the lower 60s.

Friday brings rain to the Daytona Beach area. Looks like there will be a slight chance of rain up to 1PM. There is a chance of rain and thunderstorms after 1pm through about 6pm. As of now, rain totals do not look all that impressive, as the QPF chart is only showing 1/4 to 1/2 inch through 7AM Saturday morning. Just have your panchos and umbrellas handy. I'm crossing my fingers that the rain holds off until after the CTSC BMW Performance 200 is over. Highs will top out in the mid 70s and winds will be gusty throughout the day, up to 25 MPH. Just be sure to stay weather aware and seek shelter if there is lightning in the area. We'll have our live radar going throughout the day.

Rain chances will continue into Saturday morning, but decrease throughout the morning. As of now, it looks like the rain will finally move out before 1pm. Can't rule out some sprinkles after that, but I believe the start of the Rolex 24 should be dry. Skies will start to clear, but winds will still be gusty (up to 30 MPH). Highs will only top out in the upper 60s close to time to start the race. Saturday night will be mainly clear and winds will start to settle down, with lows bottoming out in the mid 40s.

Sunday looks like to be a beautiful day, with mostly sunny skies on tap. Temps will be cool, as the expected high will only reach close to 60. No rain expected, so no need for rain tires.

Here is a breakdown of temps during the race (will update as time approaches):

Saturday
2PM: 68    5PM: 64    8PM: 53    11PM: 48

Sunday
2AM: 45    5AM: 44    8AM: 47    11AM: 56    2PM: 59

I really do hope that the rain holds off until after the race on Friday and leaves the area well before the start of the Rolex 24 on Saturday. Just remember if you hear thunder, find a place of shelter. You can get the latest updates on the weather conditions by following our Twitter feeds (Doug / Scott).

We're very pleased to have Scott's Rolex 24 weather forecast featured as part of the Rolex 24 Data Guide from Inside Second and Speed Chills! The guide has a ton of useful information about last year's race, and a place to track the hourly leaders in this year's race. 

Click here to download the Rolex 24 Data Guide for free.

By Scott Martin

Wednesday is here and what a great day it is for track activities at Daytona International Speedway. Mostly sunny skies will greet you today, with only a few stray clouds floating around. Thursday will almost be a carbon copy of today. Comfortable temperatures, with highs in the low 70s.

Clouds will start to build during the late afternoon and evening hours and the winds will start to shift with the approach of a low pressure system that will bring showers and a chance for thunderstorms on Friday. Look for cloudy skies with scattered showers during the morning and a chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.

The latest run of the QPF Chart is showing rain totals of 1/2 to 1 inch in and around the Daytona Beach area valid through Saturday morning at 7AM. Most of that rain will come during the afternoon and evening on Friday. Expect gusty winds up to 30 MPH with the system.

Rain chances are still there for early Saturday morning all the way up to noon. Skies will start to clear and the rest of the day will feature gusty winds as the low pressure system moves away. Saturday night will be cool and skies will clear during the overnight hours. Sunday looks like a nice day to finish the race, but temps will be considerably cooler. Skies should be mostly clear throughout the morning and early afternoon hours.

Remember to stay up to date with any changes by visiting our Facebook page and by following our Twitter feeds (Doug / Scott). Have a great day.

By Scott Martin

Here is the Tuesday morning update to the Rolex 24 At Daytona Forecast. Models are starting to come into agreement that late Thursday evening and throughout the day on Friday will probably be pretty wet.

The latest run of the GFS model (left image) valid for 4pm on Saturday shows a low pressure system approaching from the west. Ahead of that system should start off as light rain on very late Thursday evening into early Friday morning, and become moderate as the system gets closer and passes through. The latest QPF Chart (right image) is now showing 1 to 1-1/2 inches of rain from the time period from 7AM Friday through 7AM on Sunday.

Saturday now looks like a mostly cloudy day with a few showers possible during the daytime hours, but will start to dry up in the late afternoon to early evening hours. Skies will actually clear out by the time Sunday morning arrives and it will turn out to be a great looking day for the finish of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

If anything changes with the forecast, we will have it posted here on the blog, and I will have updates on our Facebook page and on my Twitter feed. Also, if you need to see the latest radar image for Daytona International Speedway, click on the Live Radar link to see our live radar feed.

By Scott Martin

Can you believe it? Race week is upon us. The forecast graphic may look a little different than usual this time. The information shown coincides with the schedule of when there will be on track activities at Daytona International Speedway.

Wednesday and Thursday will be the best days (as of now) this week. Skies will be mostly sunny and daytime highs will be nice. Clouds will start to build Thursday night as rain chances increase.

Friday appears to be the day with the best rain chances at the track. The image above is the latest run of the GFS model. This image is valid for 4pm on Friday and it does show that it will probably be a wet day with showers around the area. The latest QPF chart is showing a total of 1/2 to 1 inch of rain for the area through Saturday and I believe most of it will fall on Friday.

After the system moves through, it will start to dry out, but temperatures will be cooler during the daytime hours on Saturday and Sunday. There is a slight chance of rain for Saturday, but it looks like by the time nightfall approaches the speedway that those chances will be done. The overnight hours of Saturday night through early Sunday morning are just going to be downright cold for Daytona, as lows could drop into the lower 40s.

Sunday will start off cold, but the skies will be mostly sunny. Temperatures should warm to the lower 60s by the time the race ends.

We will have our live radar up for the whole race week and weekend, just click the Live Radar to view the latest image. Be sure to follow myself and Doug on Twitter, and like our Racecast Weather page on Facebook to keep up with the latest weather updates for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and the rest of the 2015 racing calendar.